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i can only afford One tuba...

my current playing goes like this: quintet, clinic style ( masterclass / solo ), Band (with other tuba players), and occasional Orchestra gigs ( 6-10 or so a year plus rehearsals )...

i am thinking of switching from CC to F or Eb... but what about the orchestra gigs... i have known others that do everything on horns like Besson 983...

what is not going to handle those orchestra gigs for sure?

horns being considered:

Besson 983
Gronitz F or Eb
Miraphone 181, 1281, 283b
Meinl Weston 2040/5, 45, 46, ??

also thinking of trying to find a small 5v F or Eb for realllllll cheap... instead of switching completely...

or maybe an older Miraphone CC like 185, or 186...

what is not going to handle those orchestra gigs for sure?

the B&S F is, in my mind, maybe second best to the Besson for an all-round horn. I've done it for 20 + years, for the most part, with an occasional flirtation with others to save the F from beer gigs. I'd take the B&S over the MWs or Miraphones as an only horn.

You may not be able to fine a GREAT 186 cheap, but if you can find a 60s vintage, that would be my overall preference for a one-horn home. A truly fantastic PIggy could be close, with a couple of mouthpiece options.

IMNSO, of course.

USStuba04 wrote:i can only afford One tuba...

Sometimes, if you are willing to purchase something a little older, uglier, or even tolerate one or two alternate fingerings, you may find yourself able to buy two (or even three) tubas for the price of one horn on your list.

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Keep the CC. IMO, you might miss the low register oomph if you switch to a bass horn, especially in your day job. S&S isn't as satisfying on the upper divisi. There are a couple of real cheap Fs at BBC now.

Wasn't Ron Bishop's "F" tuba a Miraphone 184 CC for many years? These can be had pretty cheaply as well.

What about the big Yamaha F? It has its fans and its haters, but it bridges the CC and F gap...

Call Matt at Dillon Music. They've got some very reasonably priced Cerveny F's that would leave room in your budget for (cringe) one of their recent Chinese CC's (Miraphone 186 copy). Matt fixes most of the quality control issues when the horns arrive and they play astonishingly well.
You could then spend what money you had left over and pay someone to engrave "Hirsbrunner", or "Miraphone" on the bell...

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Your present tuba pretty much is a medium instrument versatile enough to play a warm contrabass sound. If you leave that one for a smaller instrument in a higher pitch, you are bound to regret that.

The more satifying way for you to go has been mentioned by another poster: buy a second hand F or Eb tuba and accept a few quirks. Go on saving and you will eventually be able to upgrade that bass tuba.

Klaus

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I agree with the previous poster about getting a Cerveny. A Cerveny 653 would be cheaper than the used MW mentioned above. They have gotten good press and I want one myself.

I used a VMI Neptune 6/4 CC and a yamaha F tuba and switched continuously throughout the last recording I did with the UNLV wind symphony. It was on a piece you can actually look up on itunes if you wanted to ... the piece sucks and the choir and sung parts are less than desirable, but the one thing I took away was ... I can't remember which horn I played on which part of the piece ... and listening back ... I can't tell which one I was playing or when ... the yamaha 822s f tuba is a very good all around horn. I guess it all depends on what you are doing.

oh yeah it is called bandana and it was composed by a guy named Hagen. lots of cussing and very filthy piece of tripe... but the tuba was good on it <I think> and the french horn playing was the guy who until very recently was with the Dallas Brass.

The Cerveny F is an exact replica of the B&S. I'm not sure if the dimensions are that of a PT10 or the PT15. The high register is extremely easy and light and the Bydlo G# is in tune with the 2nd valve. The infamous low C is better than on my Alex 155. These are fantastic horns for the price tag.

I think they had 3 of these horns when I was in the store last week, one of them had a left hand trigger. I don't see this as a bargain horn or a compensatory pick; these are legitimate professional quality horns. If I didn't already love my own Alex, I would have no problem using one of these for recitals, quintet and the standard list of orchestra rep.

Jon

This...




is a copy of THIS??



um....maybe not???

Jonathan Fowler wrote:The Cerveny F is an exact replica of the B&S. I'm not sure if the dimensions are that of a PT10 or the PT15. The high register is extremely easy and light and the Bydlo G# is in tune with the 2nd valve. The infamous low C is better than on my Alex 155. These are fantastic horns for the price tag.

I think they had 3 of these horns when I was in the store last week, one of them had a left hand trigger. I don't see this as a bargain horn or a compensatory pick; these are legitimate professional quality horns. If I didn't already love my own Alex, I would have no problem using one of these for recitals, quintet and the standard list of orchestra rep.

Jon

I'm not sure the Cerveny 653 is a replica of a B&S, at least not one I'm familiar with. I have to agree with everything else you said, though. A fantastic pro F, maybe a little small for current tastes dimension-wise, but not in sound.

The picture on their website appears to be slightly different than the Cerveny that was posted above. I'm not sure that it accurately represents the horns that they have at the shop, or at least my recollection of them.

I know it has a smaller bell, but I much preferred the Besson 980 over the 983.

ztuba wrote: I can't remember which horn I played on which part of the piece ... and listening back ... I can't tell which one I was playing or when

Were you using the same mouthpiece on each?

I find that quite surprising. I used both my Neptune and PT-15 (which is a big F) at a recent concert, and listening to the recording, the sound could not be more different (which surely is the main reason for choice of tuba?).